Aanii Kina Weya,
There are a lot of great things that are happening at the Wikwemikong Board of Education! It is a honor to bring to you, by way of TVO TeachOntario TeachTalks, how we are growing as we meet the needs of our students and community.
In these videos you will find five different ways that we are offering an education to our students with the vision “to promote lifelong learning and academic success, guided by Anishinaabe world views.” We are creating ways to include Anishnawbe culture and language in everyday activities and classroom instruction.
The Wiikwemkoong Board of Education has appreciated the opportunity to highlight some of its’ successes through the work of our teachers and students. We hope you are inspired to utilize some of the teaching tools that we use to support Anishnawbe students. As life-long learners, our teachers are always learning how to inspire students to learn and continue to develop their understanding of ways of supporting our students in our community.
Miigwech,
Fay Zoccole
Education Director, Wikwemikong Board of Education
Wikwemikong Talks
-
Nimkii Lavell
-
Sharon Hunter
-
Ann & Cathy
-
Chris Mara
-
Valerie & Samantha
Nimkii Lavell | Land Based Learning Coach
Land-based education is based on an environmental approach to learning that builds on the relationship of Indigenous peoples to the Land. It is grounded within Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy and prioritizes the relationship between people and the land in which learning occurs. This relationship produces invaluable teachings. Nimkii Lavell works with staff, students and community members from Kindergarten to Grade 12 to incorporate land-based learning into the students’ experiences. The experiences are based in the outdoors and all are steeped in the rich cultural history of the Anishinabe. The connections between land, culture and language are interwoven.
The Wikwemikong Board of Education’s vision statement is “to promote lifelong learning and academic success guided by Anishinabe world views.” In creating the position of Land-Based Learning Coach the Wikwemikong Board of Education is fostering meaningful and transformative outdoor learning experiences that encompass Anishinabe perspectives and values. Learning takes place in local outdoor settings, and in ways that also connect students to the landscape and practices of their ancestors. Nimkii describes his work as supporting students in connecting to their Anishinabe heritage, “there is a sense of belonging, we are creating that Indigenousness.” By engaging in complex, multi-layered activities from skinning a beaver to building a canoe the students are developing their knowledge and skills. And as these experiences originate in Anishinabe practices the students are also developing a sense of well-being about their cultural place in the world.
This project has had an incredible impact on everyone involved and the enthusiasm for learning is evident. As Nimkii describes, it provides far-reaching benefits such as building community connectedness, improving mental health and well-being as well as improving understanding of key curriculum concepts.
Sharon Hunter | Arts & Culture
Sharon Hunter describes her perspective on teaching and learning in a very matter of fact way but there is very little that is matter of fact about how she and her students approach learning. She articulates a learning environment that highlights:
• a setting that involves risk
• opportunity for student agency
• learners developing a positive self-identity
• multiple entry points for diverse learners
• participation, engagement and dialogue
• the experience being informed by the learners' questions
• learning as a process
Sharon positions herself as an educator who is curious about how her students learn. Through reflection, observation and asking questions she listens closely to attend to student wonderings and learning. An example that she shares is presenting them with the work of land-based artists and using these pieces as provocations to inspire their thinking. She watches and notices in order to identify what is engaging her students and what her next steps will be. Taking her cue from them, she makes careful pedagogical decisions that will support their understanding of the curriculum.
Another key feature of the program is the role of the outdoors in the learning. Sharon is committed to using outdoor experiences to help students increase their understanding of their natural and human communities which leads to a sense of place. She regards herself as a visitor to the community who takes her lead from the students and families that she works with. She is excited at what the future holds and anticipates her students creating multi-media art works that can be located throughout the community inviting dialogue and engagement.
Ann Assinwe & Cathy Harley | Collaborative Inquiry
Ann and Cathy intentionally plan to disrupt colonial practices by replacing traditional methods of instruction with a more responsive philosophy that is guided by Indigenous knowledge-building. The educators’ initial thinking served as a rough plan for the inquiry but by listening closely to the students’ wonderings and questions the inquiry evolved and took many forms. Using the land behind the school as the context for learning lead them into a study that involved:
• environmental stewardship
• migratory patterns of animals
• the ways in which animals adapt to their environment
• weather patterns and changes
• mathematical thinking
• health and well-being
• Anishinaabe culture and traditions
• oral communication, reading and writing
For Cathy, the rich learning brought about a realization that we have been doing a disservice to students by not capitalizing on who they are and what they know. By using the natural environment as the context, students are able to access and utilize what they have heard and learned from their families and the larger community. Ann believes in her students and encourages them to question and wonder. In her interactions with her students she fosters critical thinking and understanding through: rich conversations, open-ended questions, positive feedback and ongoing documentation of their learning. Ann and Cathy’s passion for inquiry and land-based learning is evident as they see the tremendous impact that it has on the students. This educator team is energized by their students’ and is excited to see where their learning will go next!
Chris Mara | Robotics
At Wikwemikong High School, Chris teaches math, science, computer science and manufacturing technology to Grades 10–12. He also coaches the school’s acclaimed robotics team. In 2014, Chris received a phone call inviting him to lead a FIRST Robotics team. He took this proposal to the students and from that developed an all Indigenous Robotics team. This team has gone to international success at the 2019 World Championships in Detroit, where they were one of three finalists for the Chairman’s Award which is the most prestigious prize of the event that had over 600 teams. One of the team members was also a finalist for the outstanding student leadership award.
The impact of robotics education on the students and school has been transformative. Chris describes the creation of Computer Science and Manufacturing Technology courses in addition to Robotics becoming a course credit. “It’s not about the robot, it’s about getting kids used to innovation” says Chris. By introducing them to working in this way they will be able to think critically and creatively about the problems that society faces from food scarcity and water health to climate change. This sense of empowerment that has developed in his students is palpable as they bring their unique Indigenous perspective to innovation and problem-solving.
Through team-building, collaboration, creativity and problem-solving the students are learning how to build and program robots which can be a complex and difficult process. The community of Wikwemikong is very supportive of the program as it sees how empowering it is for his students. Whatever fields they end up contributing to after high school, it will be informed by the learning that originated in their participation in the FIRST Robotics programs.
Chris is optimistic about the future with his students taking the lead in figuring out unique ways of solving problems: “First Nations voices are essential to the innovative solutions that their generation faces,” he says.
Valerie O'Leary & Samantha Cooper | TRC Inquiry
During History classes it became evident that the students had lots of questions and wonderings about the TRC Calls to Action. Conversations between staff and students highlighted an opportunity to build understanding as to the background and purpose of the TRC Calls to Action as well as ways to personalize the learning for the students. The educators adopted an inquiry stance which allowed for the learning to be truly transformative. They saw themselves not as experts but as facilitators and guides alongside their students as they delved into rich learning that touched on a range of topics and themes. They modelled how collaboration supports knowledge-building by forming a partnership that capitalized on their unique skill sets. They encouraged the students to identify their area of interest as members of the Anishinaabe community and create their own research projects based on those interests. The students were inspired to connect with diverse issues such as traditional medicine, residential schools and language revitalization.
The students asked questions, explored issues, collected and analyzed evidence, made conclusions and communicated the learning. An additional resource that the students could access was community members and elders who had first-hand knowledge and expertise to share. One of the examples that Valerie and Samantha mentioned was the inclusion of elders who were residential school survivors coming into the school to tell their stories. By approaching the Calls to Action in this meaningful way, students are able to see how interconnected the issues are. Learning about endangered Indigenous languages also means learning about the Canadian government’s assimilation government policies as well as the resilience and strength of Indigenous peoples. The culmination of the inquiry was a Learning Showcase in which the students shared their projects with the community as a whole. Although some students were initially shy, they became confident once they started highlighting their research.
Valerie and Samantha created a learning environment that honoured their students’ identity, gave them agency and developed their belief in themselves as learners. The project resulted in the students having a deeper understanding of the TRC Calls to Action, themselves and their community.